JR surveyed his surroundings. He was back in downtown Dallas but not where his journey had started. Three blocks away from the Ewing Oil offices, the glare of the winter sunshine, together with the change of location, disorientated him. He glanced at his companion, prompting the woman to speak.

"It's the new year now, JR" she informed him. "Where's Sue Ellen?" he asked anxiously. "Oh, don't worry, you'll see her soon enough." "I want to know what happened to her over Christmas" he demanded.

The woman nodded in agreement. "She and Clint tried their best to be civil to one another, for the sake of their children over the holidays. The atmosphere was stilted, though, and her son and daughter apprehended fairly early on that all was not well between their parents. They got out of the house to visit friends and socialise at every available opportunity, unable to face what was occurring at home. Sue Ellen sought solace in the obvious…" JR shook his head. "The bottle" he added flatly.

"Her spirit was finally crushed by Clint and his controlling ways. Returning to the drink played straight into his hands, allowing him to play the martyr where their children were concerned. In the meanwhile she suffered in silence, unable to bear the prospect of telling her son and daughter the truth because, to do so, would mean that their perception of her and Clint as their parents would change forever and she was afraid that it would cause untold damage to them."

JR shook his head in disgust. "On New Year's Eve, while he was enjoying the evening with his colleagues at a bar near the company's head office, she finally plucked up the courage to pick up the telephone and reach out to someone." "Don't tell me she called her mother?" JR asked annoyedly. "Patricia wouldn't support her." "No" she contradicted him. "It wasn't her. It was Paula, her old college friend. She sent Sue Ellen in the direction of a divorce attorney she knew, right here in Dallas, away from Austin where her husband was well known. That's where you come in."

JR looked at the woman, bemused. "I thought you said we never met?" "You don't, well not properly. Watch." Turning his head in the direction that she was facing, a new tableau emerged. "There she is!" he exclaimed, staring keenly at Sue Ellen who was at the edge of the sidewalk, appearing to be about to cross.

However, another person, someone whose entire demeanour he knew only too well, also drew his attention. It was him, marching briskly down the street, briefcase in hand, in the direction of his offices. Stopping to cross at the same junction she was standing at, they briefly made eye contact. Smiling politely, he made to speak. "Do I know you, ma'am? You look familiar but I'm afraid I just can't place you" JR asked.

His alter ego smiled wryly at the encounter. "You see, we do know each other?" he enquired of his companion. The woman shook her head sadly, causing him to feel instantly dejected.

"No, I don't think so, sir" Sue Ellen responded. She smiled right back at him as if flattered by his approach before taking a step out into the road. Pulling her back sharply by the elbow, JR was just in time. A car screeched to a halt, inches away from her. "Watch where you're going, lady!" the driver shouted angrily. "You watch your speed!" JR countered as the car accelerated away. "Are you alright?" he asked her. She nodded. "Thank you, I'm just fine. I'm so sorry if I gave you a fright. I must pay more attention" she responded. Noting that it was now safe, they crossed the street and headed in opposite directions, but not before JR had looked behind him to steal another glance at her, intrigued by their encounter.

"Is that it?" he asked frustratedly as he watched the two of them disappear into the distance. The mysterious woman nodded. "She's supposed to be on her way to see the lawyer recommended by her friend." "What do you mean, supposed to be?" "She doesn't make the appointment. She can't face it. She's far too beaten down. There's no fight left in her."

"What happens after that then? I need to know!" JR demanded. "After that, she travelled home, took off her best dress and changed back into her usual casual gear. Over the course of the afternoon, having written a short note, followed by two longer letters begging for the forgiveness of each of her children, she got through the best part of a bottle of vodka and an assortment of pills and drifted away…"

"No!" JR shouted. "That can't be how it ends, not for Sue Ellen. She's way too strong to do that." The woman shook her head. "Even the strongest of women can have their limit" she told him. "Push hard enough and long enough and death seems the only means of escape."

His stomach lurched as another thought occurred to him. "Was that an attempt on her life? I mean when I stopped her from walking in front of that car?" he asked. "None of us will ever know, JR. It's a pity but you couldn't have prevented what subsequently happened."

"I want to go!" he exclaimed. "I know what it is that I need to do now. I can't ever lose her, not my Sue Ellen, my Miss Texas!".

Tbc